Gatekeeper Queue
by Ember Q'wati
Summary: AU Stucky Ficlet. Steve and the Avengers crew are at Cedar Point for the day, and he ends up alone in line. He ends up making a friend, who's with him "'til the end of the line"- or at least the end of the queue.


Steve fidgeted nervously, shifting from side to side.

"You okay pal?" the man behind him asked.

Steve nodded, but he wished there was someone he knew in line with him.

The owners of Avengers Inc. were taking a day off at Cedar Point. Bruce had wandered off to sit on a bench to eat Dippin' Dots and people watch. Clint and Natasha were in line for the Power Tower. Tony, Thor, and Sam were waiting to get on the Raptor.

And here was Steve, standing alone in line for the Gatekeeper- his first roller coaster since Coney Island as a kid.

The man behind him spoke up again, "You a first time rider?"

"Yeah," Steve tried to keep his voice steady as he turns towards the stranger.

The man was almost as tall as Steve with long, dark hair that he had drawn up in a messy bun to keep off his neck. He was dressed simply, but his mannerisms and the way he held himself almost screamed 'military' to Steve

"The last time I rode any was when I was a kid… And I threw up." Steve blushed slightly.

"This one's not so bad. I'm James, by the way." He held out a calloused hand, which Steve shook.

"Steve"

The line moved forward a foot or two.

"So, we've got some time," they now stood by a sign stating they had around a 45 minute wait. "Do you wanna talk or anything? Sorry if I'm bugging you or anything."

Steve smiled at James, "You're not bugging me at all. What do you do for a living?"

The other man's face wrinkled for a moment before answering. "Well, I used to be in the army, but I got hurt when I was deployed and they sent me back state side. What about you?"

"Sorry to hear that," Steve moved forward with the queue. "Right now I'm working at Avengers Inc. in their marketing and design department."

"I think I've heard about it before; that's the new tech company, right?"

Steve nods, "Yeah, we merged with Stark Industries about a year ago. Before that I should've been deployed, but my mom got really sick right after basic and I went home to take care of her."

"Maybe it's better you didn't go, you could have been one of those that didn't make it back," James said quietly.

As the line meandered its way through the maze of ropes and posts, the two men talked about all sorts of topics.

Steve was a Patriots fan; James didn't really care for football. He watched rugby and the New Zealand Blackhawks were his favorite team.

"But if I had to pick a team, it would probably be the Giants"

They both liked Krispy Kreme better than Dunkin Doughnuts or Tim Horton's-

"And Starbucks is just overpriced and overhyped; I make a better cup of joe in my kitchen."

Talking as much as they had, Steve didn't notice that it was almost their turn to board.

James put a hand on Steve's shoulder and looked into his eyes, "I'm with you 'til the end of the line, pal".

Steve swallowed nervously and muttered a quiet 'thanks' as they boarded the ride.

They got off just a few minutes later, windswept and smiling.

"C'mon," James waited for Steve to follow. "Let's see our picture!"

They both laughed when they saw the image, they looked to be having the time of their lives.

"How much for two of them?" James asked, pulling out his wallet.

Steve was leaned up against a wall reading a text about meeting up with the rest of Avengers Inc. for lunch.

James joined Steve, handing him one of the small bags he was holding. Steve looked curiously inside and saw their picture.

"I'm sorry, but I can't pay you back- my wallet is in my bag with my friends." He tried to hand the bag back, but James just shook his head.

"Don't worry about it." James started to walk away, "I had a good time talking to you though."

Steve stood against the wall for another moment, biting his lip and thinking. He ran after James.

"Hey, wait a moment," Steve caught up to him easily. "I know this is odd, but I also had a good time talking to you too." he took a deep breath and mumbled quickly "Can I have your number?"

James' face cracked into a smile and he took Steve's phone and entered his number.

"Sure, and you can text or call to talk pretty much whenever- I keep weird hours anyway."

They exchanged smiles again before going their separate ways.

**~ Epilogue ~**

"Whatcha got?" Tony leaned over Steve's shoulder to glimpse what he had been hiding under the table.

"Tony," Steve tried to grab the picture back from Tony, who danced away from the taller man.

"Aww..." Clint grabbed it from Tony and handed it to Natasha. "You guys make an adorable couple. When are we going to meet him?"

"We're not a couple," Steve blushed "We were standing in line together and got talking."

"Hey," Sam hadn't noticed the commotion. He read a text, asking "Is it okay if one of the guys from my support groups joins us? He's also spending the day here at Cedar Point."

The group nodded their assent. Thor handed the now slightly crumpled photo back to Steve apologetically.

Sam stood up and waved to someone and a man jogged to join the table.

"This is James," Sam introduced the group, "That's Clint, Natasha, Bruce, Tony, Thor, and Steve."

James nodded to each person as they were introduced, shooting a quick smile at Steve.

"Hey, isn't that...?" Clint piped up before Natasha put her hand over his mouth.

"Yeah," Tony joined in. "You know Steve has a picture of you?"

"Of course I do," James smirked, "I gave it to him."

He sat next to Steve without another word and stole a couple of his fries.

Bruce and Sam shared a knowing smile as the rest of the Avengers Inc. team sat back down and return to their food.

Steve nudged James' knee under the table accidently, who smiled and picked up where they had left off.

"So, you also grew up in Brooklyn?"


End file.
